A sleeper storyline of this tournament—beyond the tough fishing—are the remnants of Tropical Depression Imelda. Southeast Texas is getting pummeled by torrential rains as the system moves slowly to the north. And the Friday forecast for Tahlequah, Okla., calls for a 70 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. The temperature will drop nearly 20 degrees to a daytime high of 79. And the wind will blow out of the southeast up to 10 mph.
Rain and cooler temperatures. There hasn’t been much of either around these parts all summer. What will that mean for the fishing on Friday? Without a doubt, it will mean a complete about-face over what’s happening now. So far, the anglers have stayed on the banks, choosing to fish topwaters around the semi-submerged buck brush to bring suspicious bass out of hiding. As the sun came up over the horizon that focus shifted to any shady spots used by the bass as ambush points and overall cover.
Without sun or the urge to hold tight to the cover, it’s a pretty good guess that we’ll see a completely different tournament on Friday, thanks to Imelda.